1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink-jet recording material and a method for preparing the same, more specifically to an ink-jet recording material that is excellent in ink-absorption property, water resistance and coloring property when it is printed with an aqueous dye-based ink, is prevented from occurrence of bronzing and causes less bleeding under high-humidity conditions, and a method for preparing the same.
2. Background Art
As a recording material to be used for an ink-jet recording system, a recording material which comprises a porous ink-receptive layer comprising a pigment such as amorphous silica, and a water-soluble binder such as polyvinyl alcohol being provided on a support such as a usual paper or the so-called ink-jet recording sheet has generally been known.
For example, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications No. Sho.55-51583, No. Sho.56-157, No. Sho.57-107879, No. Sho.57-107880, No. Sho.59-230787, No. Sho.62-160277, No. Sho.62-184879, No. Sho.62-183382 and No. Sho.64-11877, a recording material obtained by coating a silicon-containing pigment such as silica, etc., on a paper support with an aqueous binder has been proposed.
Also, in Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei.3-56552, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications No. Hei.2-188287, No. Hei.10-81064, No. Hei.10-119423, No. Hei.10-175365, No. Hei.10-193776, No. Hei.10-203006, No. Hei.10-217601, No. Hei.11-20300, No. Hei.11-20306, No. Hei.11-34481 and No. 2000-211235, U.S. Pat. No. 5,612,281, and EP 0 813 978 A, and the like, there have been disclosed ink-jet recording materials using synthetic silica fine particles prepared by a gas phase process (hereinafter referred to as “fumed silica”).
Also, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications No. Sho.62-174183, No. Hei.2-276670, No. Hei.5-32037, and No. Hei.6-199034, recording materials using alumina or alumina hydrate have been disclosed.
Alumina hydrate, alumina, and fumed silica are ultrafine particles each having an average particle diameter of the primary particles of several tens nm, and have characteristics that they give high glossiness and high ink-absorption property. Thus, in an ink-jet recording material required to have high image quality same as that of a silver halide photography, they are used in an ink-receptive layer, and as a support, a water-resistant support such as a paper support (resin-coated paper) on the surface of which are coated by a resin such as polyethylene, etc., or a polyester film, etc. has generally been used in the viewpoints of glossiness like a silver salt photography and feeling. However, such a water-resistant support itself does not absorb ink, so that a high-boiling point solvent remains in the ink-receptive layer as such, and when the printed material is preserved under high temperature and high-humidity for a long period of time after printing, the solvent is diffused with a dye in the ink-receptive layer whereby there is a problem that bleeding of an image (hereinafter referred to as “bleeding under high-humidity”) is generated.
On the other hand, in the ink-jet recording material, it has been proposed to add a compound having an amino group or an ammonium salt, particularly to add a polymer compound having the same, for the purpose of fixing a dye component in the ink. For example, it has been known many compounds such as a (co)polymer of diallyl ammonium salt derivatives as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications No. Sho.60-83882, No. Sho.64-75281, Sho.59-20696, etc.; allylamine salt (co)polymers as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications No. 2002-274024, Sho.61-61887, No. Sho.61-72581, etc.; vinyl (co)polymers such as (meth)acrylate having an ammonium salt, (meth)acrylamide series (co)polymer having an ammonium salt, vinyl benzyl ammonium salt (co)polymer, etc., as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications No. Hei.8-108618, No. Hei.6-340163, No. Hei.4-288283, No. Hei.9-300810, No. Hei.8-318672, No. Hei.10-272830, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Sho.63-115780, etc.
Also, many compounds have been proposed to add them to an ink-jet recording material such as a modified polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei.10-44588, an amine-epichlorohydrine polyaddition compound as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei.6-234268 and No. Hei.11-277888, etc., a dihalide-diamine polyaddition compound as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei.10-119418, etc., a polyamidine as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications No. Hei.11-58934, No. Hei.11-28860, etc., a polymer of an allylamine hydrochloride, an allylamine, a diallyldimethyl ammonium salt, etc. as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei.12-71603, etc. Also, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Sho.63-280681, an ink-jet recording material using a polyamine substituted by a hydroxyalkyl having 2 to 3 carbon atoms has been disclosed.
However, according to the techniques using these polymer compounds having an amino group or an ammonium salt, bad effects are exerted in some cases on the ink-absorption property or coloring property of an ink-receptive layer using the above-mentioned fumed silica or alumina hydrate, which has a high void ratio, so that they cannot sufficiently satisfy these properties and high-humidity bleeding simultaneously.
To improve ink-absorption property and water-resistance, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-309157, paper for an ink-jet recording comprising an ink-receptive layer formed by silica and containing a water-soluble aluminum compound, a titanium compound and a zirconium compound has been disclosed, but it is insufficient in high-humidity bleeding, and yet it is also insufficient in occurrence of a phenomenon in which disorder in glossiness such as metal luster on the surface of a printed portion occurs, which is so-called bronzing. Bronzing is a phenomenon in which a coloring material of ink is not uniformly fixed onto the surface of an ink-receptive layer, and the coloring material is excessively agglomerated. Moreover, according to the technique disclosed therein, when a water-soluble cationic polymer is used in combination to improve high-humidity bleeding or water resistance, fine cracks tend to be generated so that coating property is desired to be improved.
Also, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications No. 2001-96897 and No. 2001-113819, an ink-jet recording material having an ink-receptive layer which comprises fumed silica containing a water-soluble metallic compound such as zirconium, etc. has been disclosed. Moreover, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications No. 2001-310548 and No. 2002-160442, an ink-jet recording material in which an ink-receptive layer is constituted by multi-layers comprising inorganic fine particles such as fumed silica has been disclosed. These materials are improved in ink-absorption property or high-humidity bleeding, but, in particular, they do not satisfy a sufficient level of high-humidity bleeding, and there are problems in coloring properties that tint is different due to change in humidity conditions at the time of storage, or bronzing is likely generated.
In Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-160422, there is disclosed paper for an ink-jet recording in which a water-soluble metallic compound is distributed with a larger amount at the portion of an ink-absorption layer apart from a support to prevent from bleeding under high-humidity circumstance, but an effect on high-humidity bleeding is still insufficient. Moreover, according to a combination of the above and a water-soluble cationic polymer as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-192830, it gives bad effects on an ink-absorption property or coloring property and it is not in a position of a satisfactory level, and thus, improvement thereof has been desired.
In Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-199153, a binder composition containing a polyvalent metal and a cationic polymer in an ink-receptive layer has been disclosed, but in this technique, a large amount of a cationic latex is required to be contained to realize a function of a binder, so that it causes bad effects on the ink-absorption property or causes a problem in coloring property since haze occurs at the ink-receptive layer whereby these problems are desired to be overcome.
In Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-58575, an ink-jet recording sheet in which a layer containing a cationic emulsion is provided under an ink-receptive layer is disclosed. This is a technique to improve water resistance or bleeding with a lapse of time, and adhesiveness between a support and an ink-receptive layer, but, in particular, it is insufficient with regard to bleeding generated under high-humidity circumstance or coloring property whereby these problems are desired to be overcome.
Moreover, it has also been known to use a zirconium compound or an aluminum compound in the ink-jet recording material. For example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications No. 2000-309157, No. 2002-160442 and No. 2004-1240, ink-jet recording materials using a water-soluble aluminum compound and/or a water-soluble zirconium compound have been disclosed. However, these materials cannot satisfy all the ink-absorption property, water-resistance, coloring property, anti-bronzing, and anti-bleeding under high-humidity conditions with sufficiently satisfied degrees.